Professor Xie, isn't this a case of forcing customers to buy products that don't match the

"Your father died under mysterious circumstances! The old man just said it was an accident, and that's it? Then he rushed to send us, a widow and her children, far away, even changing our surname! Why?! It's all because you tore up the book! From that moment on, the old man only had eyes for Xie Jing's branch of the family! He thought we were an eyesore! He thought you weren't as good as Xie Jing, didn't deserve to stay in the Xie family, didn't deserve the Xie surname!"

Her voice was distorted with emotion, pouring out all the resentment she had harbored for her son for many years:

"If you had been more ambitious and caught the old man's eye like Xie Jing, our second branch of the family wouldn't have ended up like this! Your father might not have... At least we could still be in that circle, living a truly privileged life, instead of being treated like beggars with that meager amount of money! I've lost all face, your father's face, and now even you've fallen so low! Hanging out with shady characters! Getting yourself into this state for a man!"

As Zhou Xu'an listened to his mother's hysterical cries, this time, the things about the Xie family and his father did not arouse more anger in him. Instead, they gradually calmed him down from the peak of his rage.

It turned out that the mother always felt that the reason she and her son were kicked out of the Xie family was because he tore up a few tattered books when he was seven years old.

It's ridiculous.

Looking at his mother's tear-streaked face, he suddenly tugged at the corners of his mouth, revealing a smile devoid of any warmth.

"Yes, I don't know how my dad died, and I don't want to know."

His voice was eerily calm at that moment:

"You said it's because I'm not as promising as Xie Jing, because I tore up the book, that the old man is biased, that he swept us out like trash, even changed our surnames, and completely severed ties, all to pave the way for Xie Jing, right?"

He took half a step forward, his tall stature carrying a condescending, scrutinizing air as he looked down at his mother:

"Okay, Mom, I believe you. Just like you said, the old man is biased to the core. Just because a seven-year-old child tore a few pages of a book that might be very important, he was completely disappointed in him, and by extension, he disliked his father and our entire second branch of the family to the extreme. He insisted on sending us away."

He paused, slowed his speech, and began to question:

"There are many ways to send them away. Why not give them money and arrange for them to move to another city, or even abroad, so they're out of sight of us? Why does it have to be 'extinction from the clan'? Why do I have to change my surname to 'Zhou'? Why does it have to be this kind of 'sending them away' that's as if they're afraid we'll have any further connection with the Xie family?"

He stared intently into his mother's eyes, not missing a single subtle change in her expression, and continued to press her for answers:

"Mom, tell me, does the Xie family, or rather, the old man, treat every child who is not as good as Xie Jing this way? Are they all expelled from the clan, have their surname changed, and thrown out, as if they are no longer descendants of the Xie family?"

As Zhou Yun was bombarded with his questions, the anger and resentment on her face froze, and her eyes gradually became filled with confusion.

Why is it expulsion from the clan? Why is it a change of surname?

She had thought about these questions before; she had thought about them on countless nights when she was consumed by resentment.

However, each time, she didn't dare to really think it through.

Even if she thought it through, she couldn't verify it.

The door to that world had long been closed to her; she didn't even have the right to approach it.

If she investigates further, she may have to face a truth she absolutely does not want to accept.

Since that's the case, it's better not to think about it.

That way, at least she can continue to hate with a clear conscience.

She opened her mouth, wanting to refute, wanting to continue saying that the old man was biased and was targeting their second branch of the family.

However, her lips trembled, and she couldn't utter a single word.

Looking at her like this, Zhou Xu'an chuckled, his laughter filled with weariness.

"You don't know, do you? Or, you dare not know."

He took a step back, creating distance, as if the distraught woman before him was no longer his mother, but merely a pitiful person trapped by past obsessions.

"You'd rather believe that the old man was biased, that I was incompetent, or that we were just unlucky. Because that way, at least you can still feel justified in your hatred, put yourself in the position of the victim, and find an outlet for all your frustrations."

He shook his head, and the last trace of emotion in his eyes completely subsided.

"But I don't want to be your outlet anymore. No matter how my father died, no matter if we were treated this way because the old man was biased, or because of some other shady reason... none of that matters to me anymore."

"My surname is Zhou, and I'm doing very well. The Xie family is the Xie family, and I am me. I have no interest in your old grievances and disputes, and I'm too lazy to bother with them anymore."

"As for Shen Yan," his tone softened, carrying an undeniable sense of possessiveness, "he is mine. My affairs, my man, from now on, have nothing to do with you."

"Keep your resentment, your unwillingness to accept defeat, and your dreams of a noble family to yourself. Don't bother me anymore, and don't try to touch my people with your thoughts."

After saying that, he didn't look at Zhou Yun again, resolutely turned around, and walked towards the spiral staircase without looking back.

The footsteps were heavy and deep.

"Bang--!!!"

The master bedroom door was slammed shut.

With that sound, Zhou Yun felt as if all her strength had been drained away, and she slumped blankly onto the cold floor.

She stared wide-eyed at the direction of the master bedroom on the second floor, too exhausted even to cry.

If... if it's not just simple favoritism, then what is it?

What exactly did my husband do, or what exactly happened back then?

she does not know.

She really doesn't know.

When the news of her husband's unexpected death came suddenly, she was choosing jewelry to wear to a night out.

What followed was a complete upheaval.

Packing up, leaving, changing names, taking money... like dealing with an unlucky item, they were swept out of the Xie family home.

She cried, made a scene, and questioned, but all she received was a colder silence and urging.

She wasn't without her suspicions, but the conjecture was so terrifying that it instilled a primal fear in her.

So she transformed all her fear and resentment into hatred for the old man's favoritism and disappointment in her son's lack of ambition.

But tonight, her son not only rejected the logic she relied on for survival, but also looked at his mother with a cold and unfamiliar gaze she had never seen before.

She is Zhou Xu'an's mother.

How dare he do that? How dare he look at her, his mother, with eyes that look like they're looking at trash?

She suddenly cupped her face in her hands.

She wanted to scream, to howl, to question the heavens why they were so unfair to her, but all she could manage were desperate sobs.

Upstairs in the master bedroom, Zhou Xu'an leaned against the door, listening to the faint sounds coming from downstairs, his body stiffening for a moment.

But that stiffness lasted for less than a second.

Sympathy? Pity? Guilt?

No. It's not necessary.

The road is one you walk yourself.

Over the years, he never thought of being truly unfilial.

But his mother always managed to push him further and further away with her constant criticism, comparisons, and resentment.

This falling out between mother and son was only a matter of time.

He looked down, unlocked his phone, and tapped on a contact.

The message has been sent.

"Shen Yan, formerly an employee of Xushi, now works at Qingguo Interactive Arts. I need to know who he's been in contact with recently, what he's been doing, especially tonight in the Lijingyuan old residential area, with a man in his twenties, about 185cm tall, who was riding a motorcycle and seemed very capable in a fight. I need all the information about this man: background, job, address, social connections, whether he has a criminal record, the more detailed the better."

"Money is no problem, same as always, three times the amount. Report back to me as soon as you have any news."